The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1887-09-17
How Not to Catch Cold.

limited part of the body, or of lowered
of the feet, the air does not directly reacl
the part that is exposed to danger. Thu
protected parts of the body are NATURAL,
the most sensitive, and it is through thes,
that we catch cold. And of all othe
parts, the feet, especially in the case o
the sedentary, are the most frcquen
avenues of approach for this complaint
The artificial tenderness of the skin
which is the lot of civilized man. cause!
all of US to be more or less liable to al
ailment which is comparatively unknown
to those inhabitants of warm climate.
who take no interest in the fashions, anG
who have only heard from the mission
aries that clothes are good thing.
But we cannot return to such primi
tive Immunity rs this. What shall We
do meanwhile, if we would tougher our.
selves against the artificial tenderness
that makes life during our cold winters
for many of us a grave discomfort, and
one that is coupled with the risk of pneu.
monia and of other serious illnesses? The
question is, how to cure the excessive
sensitiveness of the skim General cold
baths will do for the healthy, but they
will not do for all; and indeed almost any
one, strong or delicate, will be the better
for the treatment that will describe.
1t is a cold foot bath of two or three
| minutes, more or less, according to the
| time required to make a smart impression
| upon the superficial nerves; this is the
one thing neeGful in this matter. In the
| winter the water as it runs from the fau-
Get will generally be cold enough for the
needed effect, if, as in New York, it flows
at temperature of from 80 to 60 Fair.
| But it may well be colder than this; and
| in summer, using ice to cool the foot
bath, there will be no harm in bringing
it down to 40o. The point is to make a
| decided impression of cold, and few
minutes will do this. Let the feet stay
in the water or under the jet until the
very bones ache: then rub them with a
crash towel, and wrap them up warmly,
and it will not be more than minute, as
a rule, before the delightful warm glow
of the reaction. Seldom, even in the
case of the most delicate persons, does
this glow fail to come. The advantage
of this treatment is that it is not severe,
as the cold bath is for many. The amount
of surface exposed to the cold is SO small
that very little draft is made upon the
system; and the person who would never
have a reaction after a cold bath is easily
able to profit by this local treatment. Of
course no bath must be used without re-
gard to times and seasons; but the fear
which some delicate persons have of this
treatment is unfounded, for the consti-
tuition rarely fails to honor SO light de-
mand upon it as that which is made by a
cold foot bath of two or three minutes.
II the beginner is very timid, its duration
may be even less than this at the start,
or until the experimenter finds ont what
safe yet potent remedy is in hand.
What is the effect of this simple treat
ment? 1t gives the feet power to resist
cold; it toughens them, not exteriorly,
but in che tonic quality of their superb
cial nerves. And it accomplishes this
result with wonderful quickness. l have
known delicate ladies who complained
that their feet were never warm, and
who were subject to frequent colds, re-
stored to their pristine birthright of
warm feet after two or three trials of
this treatment, and after a week of it
we'll fortified against draughts, at least
upon their feet. y lady patient of mine,
though otherwise quite healthy, was so
liable to catch severe cold on the slight
est exposure of her feet to the draughts
of the floor that she always managed to
or otherwise to curl them up under her
in some way out of reach of the air cur.
rent, fearing even the draught of an Au-
gust day in her country house. She let
them down to the ground with secure
temerity after the second trial of the
foot bath; and since that time, renewing
the treatment two or three times week
she has never caught cold, | mention
her case not because it is typical. She
suffered as thousands of other suffer. In
the whole range of hygiene | know of no
simpler and more et1icacious treatment
than the cold foot bath 1t will make
the feet permanently warm, and it will
prevent large proportion of all colds,
because considerably more than half of
all are the result of draughts upon the
feet 1t should be continued occasionally
as it may be needed.
For those that take cold otherwise than
through the feet-and there are many
other ways that are easy enough, as most
of us have found out-the familiar pre-
cept of baths and of exercise in the open
air must be repeated. 'Do you catch
cold by exposing your face to the air?''
said an Indian Sachem to one of the Pur-
itan captalns-lhomas Munson, of New
Haven, think.
"Never," said MunsOn.
''Well, our bodies are all face" And
in SO far as we can make our bodies call
face by exposure to cold, we shall be
free from the civilized ailment of colds
Drug store Fools.